Friday, July 27, 2012

last week when we were in san francisco we were
sitting at our favorite cafe outside enjoying a meal
when this electric bus drove by with this sign on it

this is to remind you and us that the
walk to end alzheimers is coming to where you live soon

you may join a team donate or walk and get information
on your walk in your area at www.alz.org/walk

my team organicgreendoctor.com will be walking in
the september 29 2012 walk at georgetown texas
the austin walk will be october 27 2012

you may donate to my team at this site
our goal is $5000 and there is no limit on the number
of team members

donate and walk on my team or locally where you live

IT DONT WORK
i carry the double allele gene for alzheimers disease
called apoe 4
it increases the chances that my symptoms noted on
neuropsychological tests are due to alzheimers disease

a new test thats just now available called the amyvid is
a pet scan that highlights beta amyloid that accumulates
in the brain
the theory is that this amyloid buildup is what causes
alzheimers or what is the end result of the disease

if you have alzheimers there will be amyloid in your brain
if you dont have any amyloid build up in the brain then you
probably dont have the disease

i have mci mild cognitive impairment thought to be due
to alzheimers disease
if my amyvid test is negative then i probably dont have
this devastating disease

if its positive i probably do have it

new drugs are being tested that by using immunotherapy
these drugs bind to this beta amyloid and remove it from
the brain
hopefully by removing this sticky stuff there will be a noticeable
improvement in a patients mental status

a report out on one of these drugs called bapineuzumab
that is in phase 3 studies has shown that in patients like
me with the apoe 4 alleles for alzheimers that it does
not work
ie if i took it would do no good

dang it
it dont work for me
but it may work for others who do not have the apoe 4 genotype
these results will be out soon

Thursday, July 26, 2012

TOMATOES
sure love tomatoes
in central texas the best time to grow tomatoes
is in the fall
the best crop that i have ever had here at the
country n was in the fall

the problem is you have to plant now in the heat
of the summer and nurse them through all this
heat for the next 2 months to get those
delicious fall tomatoes

i put down 2-3 inches of compost and work it
into the soil
then i plant the tomato like i do in the summer
except i use some type of solar blocking material
to keep the hot mid day sun off the new plant
if you dont do this the plant wont make it

you can use row cover solar screen cardboard
anything to shade the plant and
keep it watered so it doesnt dry out then
in octoberish you will be rewarded with the best
tomatoes of the year

BRIDGE REPAIR
yesterday i wrote a blog on walking on the golden gate bridge
in san francisco

however i forget to tell you that they were repairing
and painting the bridge

when i saw this truck below sitting at the entrance to the
bridge i almost didnt walk on the bridge that day

NEW CHAIR
my wife she is always looking for bargains
i think its a game she plays to see what she can find and get
the best deal
heck sometimes its for stuff we dont need
i accuse her of buying stuff from goodwill and then later donating
it back to them

its all about the chase i guess

recently she came home with this battered old chair
that she got for less than $5
we have a rustic house so sometimes old beat up things
just look good in our house

this thang this chair set around for several months
i finally sat in it and covered it with an old blanket so it didnt
look so bad
well sorry to say i got use to the chair
its got a metal frame and can pivot in all directions
reminds of one of those exercise machines that can go in
all directions

then i ran across an article online about using duct tape for
upholstering
you know me and duct tape
i had to have a duct tape chair

so i got a roll of black duct tape and began working
it is a work of duct tape art

she will regret this purchase cause i aint getting rid
of this piece of art work

Wednesday, July 25, 2012

it was bucket list time last week
we did a little emptying of the bucket when we
went to san francisco

my two sons live there so we have reasons to
go visit there frequently
we try to see different things each time we go and
of course go eat at different restaurants each time

one of the bucket list items was to walk to and across
the golden gate bridge
my younger son my wife she and i walked from our
older sons apartment to the bridge across the bridge
and then back
it was a 8 mile hike
but it didnt feel like 8 miles
i guess because it was in the 60s and windy
real windy up on the bridge

we walked all the way across the bridge and
touched the other side and then walked back
there were great views of the down town

the big building in the middle is where my smiley
daughter in law works
we call it her building

this was one of those things you have to do
most of the walkers had that touristy look
dont think many locals were on the bridge that day

wonder how they built that thang
and how do they keep it painted
wouldnt want to be the one that painted it

many of the walkers were european
the same that we noticed at the grand canyon this summer
they seem to have awe and respect for our important
sites

overall it felt good to walk across that bridge
windy cold but the views were well worth the effort

then we ate a lot of food there
the food is always good
sorry but the best food we ate was when my wife she
made her home made chicken and dumplings with home made
corn bread for our two sonsshes the chef of the week

yes we love san franciscowe will go back and will remove other items from the bucket list next time

Tuesday, July 24, 2012

10 COMMANDMENTS
this is not about moses 10 commandments
but its about the 10 commandments for mobile manners
this was taken from komando.com last week
here they all are
we need to read these and practice them
most of these need no explanation

1 thou shalt give top priority to those who are with you
remember we are with you also

2 thou shalt not be distracted
that means no pedexting no texting while driving
no cyclotexting
we dont want to read your text you didnt send at
yours or someone elses funeral

3 do not shout on the sidewalk
would you just text please
we dont want to hear about your life

4 thou shalt not make private matters public
that includes texting and pictures
some people learn this
right brett

5 do unto others as briefly as possible
like in a car where we cant just leave
we have to listen

6 learn how to turn that thing off as soon as you
get out of the box
churches restaraunts concerts movies plays and meetings
we always watch movies at the alamo drafthouse in austin
as they will throw you out if you use your phone

7 use headphones correctly
we dont want to listen at the same time you do
and take them off when i talk to you

8 do not cause light pollution
those pads and phones sure are bright in the dark
like a movie theater

9 share only with permission
dont take pictures of strangers without permission
and dont post them on social media sites

10 exercise good taste
keep what you have on your screen at a g rating
when in public

those are all the 10 commandments
sure moses would agree with them if he were alive today

ive been guilty and i know my wife she has also

the world is bad enough without us contributing to it with
our moble phones

Thursday, July 19, 2012

RED WHITE BLUE
there are red states
there are blue states
there are white states
those are the ones that havent decided yet
the swing states
mitts group and obamas group they know
which ones are which color

just follow the money and the ads
i live in texas
a red state
i know no matter how i vote mitt is going to win
thats the way it is
at least we dont have to listen to so many negative
ads for the presidential election this year
it doesnt really matter since texas is a red state
mitts going to win here

obama came here not to get votes for the presidential
election but to raise money
money thats whats making this years presidential
election perverse
obscene
the very very rich are going to determine who our president will be
that doesnt seem to bother people
rich get richer poor gets poorer and we in the middle
class just get screwed

if you live in california obamas going to win there
thats just the way it is
why waste money there if you are mitt

then there are the white states those swing states
nevada colorado new mexico ohio pennsylvania missouri
iowa michigan new hampshire virgina north carolina florida
and wisconsin
what a strange mixture of states that have no color yet
they dont seem similar

those white states will determine the next president what color red or blue they become is importantthey also get to listen to all those negative adsthere the vote is really important in the presidential election not like here in texas

dont care im still going to vote
knowing that my vote for president really isnt going to
make a difference
its my duty and my right to do it
sure dont want to lose that right

Wednesday, July 18, 2012

this is bane from the new batman movie
dark knight returns
he looks like a bad guy doesnt he
wouldnt wont him to bite me in the rear end

it appears that the other bain
bain capital will be biting mitt back there

i sorry mitt but you signed the document at the sec
there it is in black and white
admit it
you signed it which makes you responsible
i learned that quickly as doctor when i signed things
i didnt have control over
it may not be fair but thats the way it is

but you cant retroactively retire
that doesnt even make sense

just admit it and then move on
the sooner the better for you
we all arent stupid

then theres your tax returns
even john mccain who with his wife is richer than
you are released all of his returns
we the voters dont care if you are rich
we all wish we were too

you have to release your returns
it makes you look like your hiding something
you arent are you
we already know about that $70000 tax credit for
that pretty horse
yes we know its legal but it sure looks bad
ok so i get a tax break on my fences and barn
im admitting it now
remember those people on medicare medicaid welfare
unemployment food stamps arent breaking the law either
and arent free loading any more than you and i are

the sooner you do these things the sooner that
the news will go away and you can talk about
whats important

and will you and obama please stop all those attack ads
dont think i can stand it for 3+ more months
thanks goodness for my dvr

this is all i want to hear
the economy
jobs
health care
budget
fair taxes

tell us what you will do for these
please be specific
no bs please either of you guys

yep the sooner the better
if not you might get bit in the arse
by the bain/bane

Tuesday, July 17, 2012

ODE TO WATER CONSERVATION
if you live in central texas you know all about
water conservation
even though we got a lot of rain in this area this
weekend the lakes that serve as the major
water supply werent helped as much as
not much water fell on the rivers and streams
above the lakes
it mostly fell on the wrong side of the dams

i am always preaching water conservation
recently a friend and reader of this blog sent
me a poem she wrote about this

ode to organicgreen doctor

that dang organicgreen doctor-hes got me
thinkin bout the drain
and how the water going down
wont be coming back around

like when im in a comfy shower
i shouldnt stand there half an hour
and even when i shave my legs
his voice inside my head will beg
turn off the tap water abuser
be a conscious water user

when friends are at the kitchen sink
i stare at the faucet and i think
how can i say and be polite
close that water valve real tight
no wonder they wont spend the night
theyll get into a water fight

i look around the parched dry yard
and think why must this be so hard
the hostas or the lenten rose
which one deserves the water hose
already in the midst of drought
i guess thats what its all about

that dang organicgreen doctor hes got me
thinkin bout the drain
and how the water going down
wont be coming back around

Monday, July 16, 2012

SHE ALMOST FLUNKED
she almost flunked
that siri
she got a d and google got a b+
she was correct 68% and google was correct 86%
apparently siri gets most of her answers from google
but the apple folks are changing her reliance on google
not sure why since google is more accurate

google understood 100% of the questions and
siri understood 83% of the queries

siri where is elvis buried
siri said i dont know that person
(she of course thought the persons name was elvis buried)
she should have asked me
its graceland
was just there last week

when we were travelling recently we used my wifes gps
on her droid smartphone
i use to live in arkansas and still remembered how
to go from one place to another the quickest route
the phone app was not siri
i called her bitch
cause she was so irritating
she didnt send us on the best routes
she kept saying
when its safe make a u turn you stupid driver

we should have stuck to google maps i guess
at least they dont argue with you

Friday, July 13, 2012

NEW STUDIES
here are some new studies on alzheimers that are being done
one is on resveratrol
its found in red grapes and red wine
(yes i have a glass of merlot every night)
however the amount of reveratrol used in this study is
the amount found in bottles and bottles and bottles of merlot

they are now looking for study subjects with mild or moderate
alzheimers disease
could it help
this study could be the one that would show that it does or
doesnt prevent or slow down the development of alzheimers

you can go to the resveratrol study website to see if the study
is being done near you
i would enter this study but know that i cant since im in the
adni-2 study

the next study looked at patients with autosomal dominant
alzheimers disease
it you have this gene you will get alzheimers disease

they looked at beta amyloid and tau protein in the spinal fluid
beta amyloid levels go down in the spinal fluid as the beta amyloid
get stuck in the brain
this is what is thought is the end result of the process that causes
alzheimers
tau protein is released when the nerve cell nutritional channels are
damaged and the levels go up in the spinal fluid

with alzheimers disease you have low beta amyloid levels and high
tau protein levels in the spinal fluid

(i had these tests on my spinal fluid and i have indeterminate levels of
both which could match my diagnosis of early mild cognitive
impairment if it is due to alzheimers disease)

the other test they looked at was the beta amyloid pet scan
(available now as amyvid pet scan) using
a radioactive labeled product that binds to beta amyloid and will
show as a red highlighted area as below
what they found is that the beta amyloid and tau levels were found
to be abnormal in these patients as much as 25 years before
symptoms occur

also the beta amyloid pet scan were found to be positive as early
as 15 years before symptoms occur

family members without the gene had normal levels and normal scans

so we can or soon will be able to detect whether a person will get
alzheimers disease
now all we need is a good treatment or preventative treatment

Thursday, July 12, 2012

GET TESTED FOR HCV
if you are a baby boomer
you need to be tested if you have not been tested
for hepatitis c (hcv)
if you were born between 1945 and 1965 you should be
tested at least once in your lifetime

i was tested two years ago when i was having all my
blood work for my evaluation for short term memory loss
i was negative

hepatitis c was the hepatitis that for years they could not test
for in the blood so blood was given to people and they got
the disease
some had symptoms some did not
some still dont have symptoms but have the infection

you remember the 60s and 70s
many did a lot of things they dont do now
mulitple sex partners
iv drug use
sharing razors and toothbrushes

some worked in blood banks
in labs or hospitals where they got needle sticks
long term kidney dialysis
and those unlucky ones who received blood transfusions

many have it and dont know
my patients who had it most did not have symptoms
just a positive test maybe they donated blood and it showed
on the screen test
if you have donated blood in the last few years you have
been tested
some got it from blood transfusion
some from iv drug use in their younger days
some from sexual contact

close to a million people in this age group have it and dont
know it
it can be curable
not treating can in some lead to liver failure and death
easy test to do

Wednesday, July 11, 2012

WERE NUMBER ONE
no texas is not ranked number one in football
they wish they were
this is a statistic like mississippis number one ranking for
the worst school systems
its one that you should not be very proud of
a lot of texas number one rankings are related to health care

texas is the worst in healthcare delivery and services
things like home health care to the elderly and disabled
acute and chronic and preventative care
its medicaid program provides less care than most states
the bottom ten states all seem to be southern and football states
maybe money in the wrong places

yes dont think this is a stat to be proud of
to have 25% of your population to not have health insurance
the worst in the country
know we in texas would be ticked off if this was the football
team

bet the hospitals are against this statistic
its hits them hard
some one has to pay for this care
its the hospitals and its you and i in the form of increased
healthcare costs and premiums

so rick their governor will not accept the 13 billion dollars that would
come to this state for increased medicaid coverage for some of those
people
and
he will not set up any of the affordable health care exchanges in the state

thats probably good for those who will be getting coverage this way as
the federal government will step in and set up them
and the coverage will be much better than the one rick would do
guess not doing this by rick is a good thing

yep
texas you are number one
but dont be proud of it
the country is laughing at you
now they can say thank goodness for texas

FB MUSING
thanks brent for this one

what day is it said pooh
its today said the piglet
thats my favorite day said pooh

Monday, July 9, 2012

FAMILY REUNION
everyone should have one of these
our family is scattered across the us
we communicate digitally a lot
with facebook email texting skyping and
yes sometimes the old fashion way
a phone call
and even rarely a letter

a reunion is a way to bring all these people together
once a year to catch up on everyone
seems everyone gets greyer wider slower but
we all look alike
seems we get to look more alike every year

this year was more special i think
one brother who has alzheimers had just gone through a
difficult time requiring hospitalization
but has been out for a few days after being
stablilzed

we got to see him at the nursing home then he later
came to the reunion
i think he got the most out of us all getting together
yes i think he was the one

it was good for us to see him better and able
to interact with us better
this made this years reunion special

we added a feature this year
we got some of the oldest siblings to sit and talk about
our ancestory and what our parents were like when they
were younger and where they lived and where they lived
when they were early in their marriage
what kind of work did they do
what their parents were like
it was things we should all know about our families
yes the good and the bad and the ugly

not many families are getting this chance now days as
we all get strung out and isolated from each other
i also took my time and talked about alzheimers and what
happened with my story (see at the top of this blog the
three links to a video and two articles on that)
this was things my family needed to hear and really all of
you need to know about as we head into the alzheimer
onslaught that is coming

ok i cried only once

a good reunion
look forward to next year

a shout our to my great niece brandy who took all the men and
the elders to the finals of the reunion checker tournament before
barely getting beat out by a nephew
you go girl

Friday, July 6, 2012

THIS HELPS THIS DOESNT
im always looking for reasons to drink more caffeine
the problem is it interferes with my sleep because the
aricept (donepezil) i take for my mild cognitive impairment
does the same thing and the two together can make my
sleep hours go down significantly

in a recent study patients with mild cognitive impairment who
drank a large about of caffeine a day did not progress to dementia
where as those who didnt drink caffeine had an increased rate of
development of dementia

heck even in transgenic mice (whatever that means) they showed the
same thing

so for me itll be a pot of coffee in the am and good dark sees
chocolate candy for lunch and just hope i sleep at night
maybe thatll ward off the dementia

then theres omega 3
its found in fish chicken avocado nuts soy leafy green vegetables
and some fruits

one author claims that the incidence of dementia could be reducedby 70%-thats what he claimsbut it looks like that a diet with increased omega 3 may definitely slow down the progression of dementia

apparently omega 3 reduces the amount of beta amyloid in the bloodthats the sticky substance that forms plaques in the brain that may be the culprit in alzheimers disease

then what doesnt help with dementia or alzheimers is hospitalization admit them and their chances of getting worse or dying increasesdramatically

even institutionalizing an alzheimers patient makes them worseand increases the chances of things going down hill

granted thats the normal progression of the disease when some one is institutionaled usually they have gotten worse already put them in the hospital and they get worse

so drink lots of coffee and eat a lot of avos and fish and nuts and dont let them put you in the hospital and your dementia will beslowed down

LET HIM PITCH
the fans voted the mets r a dickey to be the starting pitcher in
the upcoming mlb all star game
the problem is he is a knuckleballer and throws this mean pitch
that is unpredictable and is hard for a catcher to catch as he
really doesnt know where the ball is going
the manager is thinking of not starting him but to use him in a
special situation
which means he wont pitch

i say let him pitch so we can see it for ourselves
after all its the all star game you guys
this may be a reason to watch the game this year

Thursday, July 5, 2012

DONT MESS WITH OLD PEOPLE
my not the cowgirl but the quilting sisterinlaw is always sending
us jokes and stuff
but this one is so funny
ive watched it serveral times
my wife she said what the heck are you laughing at
so hard

a lady was videotaping her grandsons skate boarding
when she starts filming a little old lady crossing the street
you can hear her laughing in the background

i had to watch this video several times before i caught
the full picture of what happened
its only a few seconds long
but it so funny

now if you could just get back those people that honk at
you at the red light
you know when youre daydreaming and the light turns green

Tuesday, July 3, 2012

ITS MAGIC
my wife she is off this summer from school so we
are able to do a lot of things together
we have and will be doing a lot of travel together

yesterday she says
honey would you like to go to the movies tomorrow
sure what do you want to see
we always like to go to the alamo draft house to watch movies
they keep everyone quiet and you have to keep your cell phones
off or theyll kick you out of there

well she said
some friends of mine and their daughter and my mom
want to go to the movies together
im thinking thats not good for a guy to go with him

hmm i might want to go
what movie do you want to see
magic mike she said
theres no way no way no way
i would go to that movie with a bunch
of women
besides an all female group i would probably be the only
guy in the theater
that could be good but more than likely it would be bad

this movie may not win any academy awards but my
guess like shades of grey it will be a box office hit

my thinking is
stay home
then stay awake and be nice all day and
i might reap some rewards later

HAPPY FOURTH
tomorrow is the 4th of july
our countrys holiday
we should all take the day off including the politicians
they should not spout nay rhetoric tomorrow
only talk about our great country
what freedoms we have
what sacrifices have been made over the years for
us to be where we are in this country

have a happy fourth and remember what this holiday is for
besides bbq and fireworks